"Charge!" Gelmund's loud command came back here; I was sure the rear Magicians heard it as well. 9 cavaliers - two being Helmsmens and Gelmund - charged into the darkness before another flare lit up the darkness ahead.
Quickly 1, 2, then 5 cavaliers fell out of their horses and dragged their horses with them onto the ground... It looked brutal.
Following the charge 10 Fireballs landed on the battlefield ahead of us. With the smoke now covering the skirmish ahead, I really couldn't keep track of what was happening.
... I wish I could help, but Jack's link still made me hesitate... Helmsmen and I were the only ones I knew who could face him. Their goal was only Kou, and any gap in our watch and Kou would be gone. Though... I was certain that I might also be a part of their goal, as I was the wall to getting her. Their goal would be ensuring I am dead for sure.
The fireballs from both the mounted Magicians and probably our enemy covered the charge ahead. It made it hard to see and hear, but... I still needed to watch out for him.
... Here!
Only in reaction to the link between Dark Magic did my sense really heightened; I quickly committed to a slash at what was nothing, though the nothing was now my opponent's sword. Jack's strike felt much weaker than I thought, but I didn't let that hold me back. I aggressively Dissipated forward while giving all my shards a target. All 19 shards to protect me and attack Jack. A defensive array of all my shards surrounded me in a dense formation. It would be impossible for him to launch an attack at me, but he still tried to attack through any gap that looked present. I slowly drove him back towards the battlefield where the charge occurred. A mess of a battle occurred as I broke through the obscured battlefield, clashes of metal, groans of pain, and the smell... the smell of smoke and burnt... flesh.
... Focus, I just need to focus on Jack...
I changed my shards focus, I gave myself 10 shards for defense and 9 shards to help out on the battlefield. I wasn't sure who was friend or foe, so my shards focused only on attacking those who attacked Helmsmen and Gelmund, or me. With the redirecting of shards I was more open, but still difficult to attack by Jack.
Here in the battlefield I could hold the advantage, Dissipating away when a barrage of Bombardment Spells would rain down, or even canceling the Bombardment Spells if I needed to. Jack wouldn't be able to do much besides warp away, but clearly his warp took a mental toll on him every time he did so now, so outlasting him was a viable option.
I continued pushing Jack to his brink; his movements became slow and I nearly managed to get a glance in. An arrow flew in, and several of my shards flew in interception. Jack's mysterious archer girl joined the fray. This time I sent 2 shards to chase that girl down. The open plains only held so much cover, so I could clearly see her in the darkness.
Huh, out came an Aurora Shard from Asashio from the smoke behind...? What... No, wait, wasn't she supposed to create her Defensive Dome? I Dissipated back behind the wall of smoke, ignoring my fight with Jack--?
Following me back Jack warped next to me and swung his sword. I blocked it easily, but... I redirected the 2 shards I sent to chase that archer back to me to defend as I took in the situation...
... Behind us the mounted Magicians seemed to have suffered some loses... Arrows along with 3 men who skillfully dodged the movements of the horses ran havoc on the rearline... I counted at 7 wounded, or effectively out of combat in the rear.
A pincer attack. This battle truly descended into chaos... and it clearly showed how much the Imperial Hunters had in independent action without the need of constant commands.
... Jack was my main concern for now... Looking at him, warping and my previous injury on him clearly inhibited him from fighting in full battle condition... I took this as my chance to strike a blow to take him out of combat; all 10 of my shards homed in. If he warped, he would be mentally taxed so much he would probably be rendered helpless... Much to my dismay, the void of a warp replaced where he was and the link of Jack disappeared...
I Dissipated back near my previous position; Asashio moved the other two with her more near the rear. Though obviously with the rear in danger of collapsing, I had to help them. Another Dissipation towards the rearline of Magicians, and I engaged my three opponents. Aurora Shards wizzed past me as I engaged in a blade fight. One of the cloaked hunter threw a dagger at me, to which three shards intercepted and shattered it. Another struck with a sword strike with skillful speed, and I reacted by Dissipating away to put some distance. I let out my shards to attack the three, now that the remaining mounted Magicians that were left retreated with enough distance. I used my 10 shards to overpower the three, and the three were soon taken out from my 10 shards. Afterwards, I kept 10 shards in defense in case of arrows...
Looking at the situation, obviously we still had archers somewhere that would attack us, though I could confirm I have taken out quite a few of the Imperial Hunters. The remaining mounted Magicians which counted 3 along with the 2 lance cavaliers retreated to Asashio's position. Their original position was littered with felled crying horses with their riders still attached on. I assumed that Gelmund never anticipated an attack by archers until both sides got separated; in which case archers took both sides by surprise... I probably should have informed Gelmund of archers, though I wasn't sure of the scale of the enemy. I also wasn't sure about how the skirmish with the charge went, but my 9 shards still haven't returned yet, so there may have been too many Imperials for those there to deal with.
I returned to the general gathering point, which Asashio stood with the two girls besides her. "Asashio; assume command of this group and cast a shield that can stop arrows." I was sure I did not sound like a commander or officer, but I still gave out an order.
" | Solar Flare | !" Asashio shot a large bright fire ball towards the previous rearline. I held confident in Asashio, so I moved on to the frontlines, worry free about Jack.
Dissipation forward, I met a scene... 2 men, without horses, casting minor Bombardment Spells onto the position of the archers, though the Bombardment Spells were stopped just above their position. The two men had my 9 shards acting as interception defenses. A trail of 13 so corpses laid behind them as they charged a position of archers. Arrows were stopped by Barrier Spells the two casted.
I Dissipated forward and joined them. Relegating 8 pure-defensive shards, 5 general shards for both defense and offense, and 6 shards for pure offense. Me joining the fight instantly turned the tide of battle as the archers in front of us laid a layer of smoke, in possibly a retreat. With no precise target, my shards soon stopped still.
I turned to see the two men in this silence. Gelmund and Helmsmen...
"An Army Slayer... Seeing you alone and your power, even without Magic, I feel as though you made an impossible battle to win for us turn into our favor within minutes." Gelmund noted...
"We're lucky to be alive for that matter, Officer. We need to regroup; we dealt a serious blow on the Imperial forces here, but we can't say they would do the same." Helmsmen said.
I had nothing much to say but follow them. I kept my shards active for any possible arrows or spells that might come, but nothing. As soon as we neared where we previously began the battle a gust of wind blew at us; a clearly different Defensive Dome created to stop arrows and Bombardment Spells.
"Imperial Hunters and the Imperial Marksmen..." Helmsmen... Huh? "We are lucky to have survived against such elite-troops. They are trained in anti-cavalry and anti-Magician tactics, and against normal troops the elite Imperial troops showed their superiority." Helmsmen explained.
Huh... ah, that explains a lot... All the archers I felt had excellent aim, and... Well, obviously the Imperial Hunters in the back caused so much havoc.
"Most are also Magicians in part as well, so light Bombardment would be meaningless against them who can use Barrier Spells. I advise your regiment train to use more-powerful Bombardment rather than start with light-to-heavy Bombardment Spells, if possible." At this point I felt as though Helmsmen was telling Gelmund how to train his troops...
We looked at the area this battle took place. "This battle was clearly brutal; a big blow to 402. Cavalry Magician's men." Gelmund noted as we looked around. The rearline decimated, and the smoke clearing showed the toll in the main battlefront. All that was left was the road which was the middle point of the battle in this field. Bodies littered the night as the flares silently went out, soon the battle before was concealed by the darkness of the quiet night. "Asashio of the Wind, fire off three Aurora Flares and a Solar Flare." Gelmund asked, soon the four flares were shot up into the skies.
Our area was lit up again... "Officer, I will maintain the watch tonight, though please send someone to over my shift before midnight." Helmsmen said...
